Sex assault charges against man, 69

A 69-year-old Chicago man has been charged with sexual assault of a child, accused of requesting sex from the victim in exchange for expensive gifts, the Cook County Sheriff's Office said in a statement today.

Spyridon Spyropoulos, 69, has been charged with a county of predatory criminal sexual assault, according to records and the statement. Spyropoulos was ordered held in lieu of $500,000 bail on Thursday and has since been released on bond. He was ordered to surrender his passport as a condition of his release.

The Cook County Sheriff's police started investigating the allegations after the victim, who lives in Worth Township, told a parent that Spyropoulos, of the 10400 block of South Spaulding Avenue, was exchanging gifts for sex acts, which he referred to as "heart kisses," the sheriff's statement said.

Each gift was worth a minium of two "heart kisses," though the number increased depending on the cost of the gift, sheriff's police said.

The assaults occured over the course of five years, starting when the victim, now 14, was 7 years old, according to the statement. Spyropoulos is next due to appear in court on March 10.